DA: Drunken off-duty cop pointed gun at neighbors

Updated with arraignment information.

Sandro Fonseca, 30, was arraigned today on charges he pointed a handgun at neighbors on Forest Street in Roxbury while drunk last night, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Fonseca, a former Marine, was in his Forest Street home with two friends when police arrived - an on-duty officer was injured in a struggle with one of them, the DA's office says.

Roxbury District Court Judge Pamela Dashiell agreed with prosecutors to set bail at $5,000 and to order him to stay away from his neighbors and undergo evaluation for alcoholism.

The DA's office provided this account of what happened shortly before 10 p.m. on Forest Street:

An adult male victim who is disabled told officers that a man with a gun ran up to him. The victim said the man had broken off from two other men on the street and first had the gun pointed downward and then directly at him, asking what he was doing and what he was saying.

The victim was on the phone with an adult female, who heard the male victim say something about a gun. That female came outside to find the men, one of whom downplayed the incident and said their friend was drunk. At about that point, she said, one of the men - later identified as Fonseca - pointed a gun at her before entering a nearby building. She then called police, describing the assailant’s gun as having a laser sight.

Boston Police responded to the area and immediately heard loud arguing from Fonseca’s door. They knocked and Fonseca allegedly opened the door with a radio in his hand, speaking incoherently. Officers pat-frisked him and dislodged a .380 caliber Smith and Wesson Bodyguard handgun from his waistband. The weapon was outfitted with a laser sight.

The DA's office says Fonseca was has a license for the weapon, which is not his department-issued gun. Boston Police say they've put Foneseca on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the criminal charges.

Innocent, etc.

Fonseca and at least one of the acquaintances then retreated into his house, where he was arrested, and a gun with a laser sight seized. The incident might have been the culmination of an ongoing dispute with his neighbors.

Boston Police report Fonseca, a former Marine, faces two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and that he has been placed on administrative leave. Police say:

On arrival, officers spoke with a female victim who stated three Hispanic males attempted to rob her disabled husband. The woman told officers one of the suspects was armed with a black handgun that had a "laser beam sight." The victim further said the armed suspect pointed the gun at her husband's face and fled into 66 Forest Street. Officers knocked on the door, announcing their presence and requested the occupants inside, to open the door. After several requests, one of the suspects, later identified as Boston Police Officer, Sandro Fonseca, 30, of Roxbury opened the door. Two other Hispanic males were in the apartment. During a search, officers discovered a blue steel .380 Smith & Wesson "Bodyguard" with a sight laser.

The DA's office says the gun was not his service weapon.

Innocent, etc.